Gizmodo loves Vinyl

For some reason or another, in the last couple of weeks, Gizmodo has had a lot of posts dealing with vinyl and the gadgets that work with it. I thought I’d do one big post with all of this stuff to help condense it all, and hopefully you find it a little interesting.

If you’re looking for the chance to make some low-fi records at home, then this may be the product for you. It’s cheap, too. Only $170 + vinyl. Giz says that “To record your own records, sing into the horn and the bamboo needle cuts the grooves into a new piece of vinyl.” Not exactly rocket science, but something that’s not really in the reach of most bedroom emcees.

The product, by a company called Gakken, seems somewhat legit. Obviously I haven’t tried it yet but it may be worth exploring if you’ve got some money burning a hole in your pocket.

This, while just a concept, is extremely badass. Once you’ve used the Gakken press to make a couple of albums, say you want to bring them along to your buddy’s house to show them off. Only your buddy doesn’t have a turntable. Have no fear! Pyott Design has your back. The player, as you can see above, is not huge and folds up quite nicely. Plugs into your USB for power and for audio playback.

Just the type of thing, strapped to a netbook, that you could probably use to test some albums while you’re out digging.

This is a nifty idea for those who want to keep the romance of vinyl but whose records have slowly gotten unplayable, or for those who simply want to create the illusion of being a vinyl lover. Now, it’s not something I endorse by any means. If you’re a digital music person, there’s no shame in admitting that and in setting up your system to reflect that.

Gizmodo explains it:

Inside the fake player he placed an RFID reader, which gets the information from the RFID-tagged record. Once it detects it—and the user moves the tonearm into position—the record player starts reproducing a playlists.

It’s quite the idea, and would probably be fun for a minute or two. Regardless, I just think it’s an interesting way to blend old and new technology in an unexpected way.